Washington Nationals place Austen Williams on 10-Day IL, recall Austin Adams from AAA

Austen Williams’ first two appearances of 2019 didn’t go the way anyone wanted them to, unfortunately. Williams, 26, gave up a walk, a hit, and two earned runs in his debut out of the Nationals’ bullpen, then surrendered four hits (two home runs) and four runs (all four earned) in a ¹⁄₃ of an inning in his second appearance.

“Williams had a tough day today, he did,” Davey Martinez told reporters after the second of Williams’ two appearances turned a 9-2 laugher into a closer-than-necessary three-run win.

“He got his feet wet and he’s a guy that we’re going to count on down the road,” GM Mike Rizzo told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Sports Junkies on Wednesday.

All was not right with Williams, however. He was placed on the 10-Day Injured List today, in advance of the series opener with the Miami Marlins in South Florida.

A press release on the move this afternoon reported that Williams has, “... a sprained right AC joint,” so he’s going on the IL, retroactive to April 18.

To take his place on the major league roster, the Nationals recalled 27-year-old right-hander Austin Adams from Triple-A Fresno, bringing the reliever back to the majors after he made eight appearances out of the bullpen for Washington in 2017-18.

Adams tossed six scoreless for the Nationals’ top minor league affiliate before he was called up today, walking one and striking out 12 of the 20 batters he’s faced so far.

Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels along with right-hander Kyle McGowin in the 2016 trade that sent Danny Espinosa to LA, Adams has put up a 3.00 ERA, 5.83 FIP, 11 walks, 10 strikeouts, and a .217/.472/.261 line against in six innings of work in the majors.